History
In this section you will find details of the history of the 45eme, including pictures of the 45eme eagle and standard, Officers names, casualty details, and a history of the regiment's involvement during the Waterloo Campaign.
The 45e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne was originally created in 1643 as the Regiment de la Reine-Mere. It was part of the Armee d'Italie in 1792-94 and formed part of the l'Interieure and de Reserve during the period 1795-99. A flag taken at the fall of Mantua on 30 July 1799, and now on show in the Army Museum in Vienna, belonged to the 3e bataillon 45e and has the pont de Lodi, Bataille de Castiglione, combat sur la Brenta, Bataille d'Arcolo, 1re et 2e Bataille de Rivoli and the Bataille de St George shown on it.
In 1802 the Regiment saw service in Switzerland and from 1802 to 1805 it was part of L'Armee de Hanovre. The Regiment took part in the campaigns in Austria, Prussia, and Poland and was sent to Spain and saw service at Talavera, Chiclana, Albuhera, Alba de Tormes, Vittoria and in Germany at Dresden in 1813. The rest of the regiment were seeing action at Nivelle, Orthez, and Toulouse. In 1815 it took part in the Waterloo campaign.
The original Latin motto for the Regiment was 'Hanc Coronam Mastreka Dedit' which translates roughly as 'Mastreka awarded this Crown'; or 'We will never surrender this Crown'; or 'The men of Mastreka will never surrender'. If anyone reading this site has a better understanding of the translation we would love to hear from you.
Regimental History
1643: Created as Regiment de
la Reine-Mere
1666: Renamed Regiment d'Arois
1673: Renamed Regiment de la Couronne
1791: 45e Regiment de Infanterie
1793: 45e demi-brigade de bataille (formed from the following)
1er bataillon 23e Regiment de
Ligne
1er bataillon Volontaires des Basse-Alpes
1er bataillon Volontires de la Lozere
1796: 45e demi-brgade d'Infanterie de Ligne (formed from the following)
100e demi-brigade de bataille
(2e Bat 50e Regt d'Inf, 7e Bat Vol des Bouches-du-Rhone and Bat Vol de
Tarascon)
105e demi-brigade de bataille (1er Bat, 53e Regt d'Inf and 1er and 2e Bat Vol
du Gers)
Bataillon Volontaires des Basse-Alpes
1803: 45e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne
1791: Moyria
(Joseph-Marie-Anne de) - Colonel
1792: Chalain (Charles-Antoine-Guillaume Blandin de) - Colonel
1793: Goullus (Francois) - Colonel
1794: Bourset () - Chef-de-Brigade
1795: Giraud (?) - Chef-de-Brigade
1796: Philippe (?) - Chef-de-Brigade
1799: Barrie (Jean-Leonard) - Chef-de-Brigade and Colonel in 1803
1811: Vare (Pierre-Louis) - Colonel
1813: Freytag (Jean-Daniel) - Colonel
1815: Chapuzet (Loius-Guillaume-Joseph) - Colonel
Three of the above officers attained the rank of General-de-Brigade
Chalain (Charles-Antoine-Guillaume Blandin de)
Born: 7 June 1740
Colonel: 29 June 1792
General-de-Brigade: 30 July 1793
Died: ?
Goullus (Francois)
Born: 4 July 1758
Chef-de-Brigade: 12 April 1793
Wounded 5 September 1793
General-de-Brigade: 17 February 1797
Commander of the Legion d'Honneur: 14 June 1804
Baron of the Empire: 13 August 1811
Died: 7 September 1814
Barrie (Jean-Leonard)
Born: 30 October 1774
Chef-de-Brigade: 4 May 1800
Colonel: 1803
General-de-Brigade: 27 November 1810
Commander of the Legion d'Honneur: 22 November 1808
Baron of the Empire: 27 November 1808
Died: 15 February 1848
Colonels killed and wounded while commanding the 45e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne
Colonel Barrie: wounded 28
July 1809
Colonel Vare: killed 30 July 1813
Officers killed and wounded while serving with the 45e Regiment d'Infanterie during the period 1804-1815
Officers killed: Twenty-seven
Officers died of wounds: Nine
Officers wounded: One hundred and twelve
French 45e Regiment d'Infanterie
de Ligne Officer Casualties during the Period 1805 - 1815:
Date
Killed
DOW
Wounded
02/12/1805
0
0
1
25/01/1807
0
0
1
16/02/1807
0
0
2
14/06/1807
1
0
2
03/12/1808
0
0
1
08/02/1809
0
0
1
14/05/1809
1
0
1
22/05/1809
1
0
9
05/07/1809
0
0
1
06/07/1809
0
1
3
28/07/1809
3
2
14
14/08/1809
0
0
1
15/11/1810
0
0
1
05/03/1811
2
0
2
15/04/1811
0
0
1
16/04/1811
1
0
0
16/05/1811
2
0
3
05/-9/1812
0
0
1
29/09/1812
0
0
1
10/11/1812
2
0
3
29/11/1812
1
0
1
09/06/1813
0
0
1
21/06/1813
1
2
3
28/06/1813
0
0
1
28/07/1813
0
0
3
30/07/1813
1
0
0
31/07/1813
0
0
1
22/08/1813
2
0
3
26/08/1813
0
0
4
03/09/1813
0
0
1
10/09/1813
1
0
1
24/09/1813
0
0
2
08/10/1813
0
1
5
10/11/1813
0
0
3
27/02/1814
1
0
2
20/03/1814
1
0
1
10/04/1814
1
3
3
18/06/1815
3
0
28
Totals
27
9
112
Regimental war record (Battles and Combats)
1792: Valmy and Siege of Lille
1793: Nerwinden and Wattignies
1794: Courtrai and Capture of Ypres
1796: Lodi, Mantoue, Saint-Georges, and Castiglione
1797: Mantoue
1799: Magnano, Cassano, Novi, Gavi, and Tortone
1801: Casa-Nova
1805: Austerlitz
1806: Crewitz and Lubeck
1807: Ostrelenka and Friedland
1808: Espinosa-de-los-Monteros
1809: Alcantara, Aspern-Essling, Wagram, Talevera-de-la-Reina, and Almonacid
1811: Barrosa, Fuentes-de-Onoro, and Albuera
1812: Cadiz
1813: Vittoria, Echalar, Nivelle, and Bayonne
1813: Dresden and Dantzig
1814: Garris, Orthez, and Toulouse
1815: Waterloo
Battle Honours
Lodi 1796, Austerlitz 1805, and Friedland 1807.
Thanks to Tony Broughton for supplying the Regimental History details.
French Troops, artisans and a cantiniere in Egypt
Waterloo. The Death of the Eagle (translated
by Paul Wisken) from an article published in Weapons and Militaria
magazine,1980.
During a banquet, to a British officer who asked him to describe the separate
phases of the battle of Waterloo, Lord Wellington replied that it was as
difficult to recount a battle as to describe a ball. However today we will
try to describe a small part of the great battle where the future of Europe -
that is to say the world - was played out.
The morning of 18th June 1815. The 45eme de Ligne takes position facing the
plateau of Mont-Saint-Jean in the sodden rye fields, and in marching the men
tried to warm themselves up beneath the feeble glow of the sun. The
earth, soaked with water, glued itself to the soles of their shoes and the
wheels of the cannons which the poor horses had a hard job dragging out of
the ruts. The men, who had camped in the pouring rain, were soaked to
the bone. In the centre of his company, Lt. Pierre Guillot uncovered
the eagle of the 45eme; the "golden cuckoo", the cravat and the
flag material appearing spanking new .. perhaps too new. Guillot misses
the old emblem of 1804 on which the eagle was so beautiful with its gold
crown, given by the people of Paris. Like many of its sisters it had
assisted in so many victories and flown over so many battlefields that the
new King of France was in its shade and had ordered its destruction.
And so the eagle of the 45th had flown away. in smoke. Now the officer
contemplates the poet's "dull plain" , as far as his eye can see he
sees thousands of infantry and cavalry.
Positioned like himself in the first line, Guillot recognises to his left the
infantry of Donzelot's and Quiot's divisions. To his right, beyond his
friends in Marcognet's division, he sees the shakos of Durutte's soldiers,
and the lancers and hussars of Jacquinot's division. In the second
line, beyond his brothers in arms of the 25eme, he sees the shining cuirasses
of the 8 regiments of "big milk cows" which the centaur Milhaud
commands. Finally almost at the end of the plain, impeccably strapped
into their scarlet or blue Kurtkas, Guillot recognises the light cavalry of
the Guard lined up beside the legendary Chasseurs a Cheval. Reassured
by their presence, the eagle-bearer of the 45eme now turns his eye towards
the plateau of Mont St Jean, topped by a track bordered with hedges, behind
which he detects the presence of thousands of red coats. Towards one
o'clock, 80 pieces of artillery concentrated on the plateau of la Belle
Alliance open up. in fact, plenty of noise for little effect, because
the cannons are placed far to far from Wellington's reserves. The
bombardment continues for nearly half an hour, the British replying shot for
shot, and the plain is covered with terrible smoke.
On the orders of an ADC to Drouet D'Erlon (1), Colonel Chapuset gives
the signal to attack. Oddly grouped in column, the two battalions of
the 45eme de Ligne start the assault, muskets in the crook of the elbow.
The men sing out the "Chant du depart". Wow, what a target
for the enemy! Imagine the battalions grouped with a frontage of 15
men, starting to climb the long grassy slope, made slippery by the incessant
rain which has been falling for a fortnight! Pierre Guillot's (2) legs sink
into the sodden earth, re-awakening his old wounds; the drums beat the charge, the pace
increases. With a cry of "Vive l'Empereur", the soldiers
breast the plateau when suddenly the Scots of Picton's (3) division reveal
themselves.
One instant, Guillot sees the elegant uniforms of the Gordon Highlanders
(92nd Regt) all covered with mud, then a terrible fusillade booms out,
knocking down most of the soldiers in the front ranks. The moment the
stupor passes, the men revive themselves, attacking with the bayonet and
throwing back the Gordons. Victory seems in their grasp when suddenly
the sound of thunder descends upon them. Certainly not the thunder of an epic
charge like the talented Lady Butler (4) painted; no, a simple cavalry attack
arriving at the psychological moment and led by the hand of Colonel Ponsonby. Immortally known by the name of "Scots
Greys", the horsemen of the Royal North British Dragoons penetrate into
our ranks, sabring all in their way with the cry of "No quarter",
which is not very nice of soldiers whose ancestors were the subjects of a
queen of France (5). Terrified, our unlucky soldiers fled; the bravest tried to
form a square, but it was too late and with this damned mud which stuck to
the shoes, the ground did not help the flight. In combat, the opportunity to
seize an enemy flag would not be missed by the Scottish soldiers; which is
why Sergeant Ewart attacked Lieutenant Guillot. It is difficult to know
exactly what happened, what we can say is that the eagle bearer
of the 45th was not killed or even wounded! Almost alone and without
help, did he slip on the sodden ground while trying to defend his emblem, or
was he knocked down by Ewart's horse? As far as we know, Guillot (6) fell
to the ground unable to rise alone because of his old wounds, he could not
prevent the Scots from taking the emblem that he was entrusted with. We know
that the eagle bearer never told his story to his children, because if the
Napoleonic legend is full of great deeds, it forgets the defeats; it is true
that for our old enemies, it is the same!
The great French comic, Alphonse Allais has previously remarked that the English have given the names of the greatest defeats - Trafalgar and Waterloo - to their principal monuments.
The eagle of the 45eme was captured at Waterloo and now resides in Edinburgh Castle. The eagle is the 1815 model although the numerals on the base are from the original 1804 pattern eagle.
NOTES
(1) Jean-Baptiste DROUET, Count of Erlon, was one of the
rare confidents of the Emperor. At the start of the 100 days, he seized the
stronghold of Lille and was then compensated by being named Commander in
Chief of the 1st corps of the Observation Army of the North and peer of
France. Banished after the return of Louis XVIII, he fled to
On the 10th June 1815 the first 2 Battalions of the
45th, which totalled 43 Officers and 960 men commanded by Colonel CHAPUSET,
formed, along with the 25th Regiment, the GRENIER brigade of the MARCOGNET
division of the first Army Corps of the North which was commanded by
Lieutenant DROUET d'ERLON. The losses at Waterloo were vast, so much so
that a survey of the situation on the 24th June 1815 revealed that the 45th
Regiment was reduced to 13 Officers and 110 men and the 25th had no more than
10 Officers and 57 men!
(2) Pierre GUILLOT had been injured 3 times during the
terrible war in Spain: in his right foot in 1809, his left side in 1811 and
his right thigh in 1813 at the same time as the Tolosa retreat in November.
Imprisoned by the British, he was freed on the 18th June 1814 and was
re-instated the following 1st of August, with the title of 2nd
Lieutenant in the 42nd Regiment of the new Royal Army where the flag bearer was
Claude THOMASSIN. After the return of Napoleon, the 42nd once again became
the 45th and THOMASSIN, judged as too royalist was dismissed, but strangely
was made to attend on the 30th may 1815, to watch his friend GUILLOT named as
the eagle bearer.
(3) Lieutenant Sir Thomas PICTON was killed in action.
The losses of the PACK brigade (Royal Scots, Black Watch, Gordons and
(4) This magnificent work of art, painted in 1881
represents the 'Scots Greys' in full gallop, in the tradition of battle
painters of the time. Most of the details are false, as false as the figures
are on the Famous painting by Edouard DETAILLE representing the handing over
of the gold crowns of Paris to the Imperial Guard Regiments on the 25th
November 1807.
(5) We want to mention Marie STUART, who was married in
1558 to the future Francois II. Of course we know that his reign was very
short as it only lasted from 1559 to 1560 but the fact remains!
(6) The register conserved in the archives of service
history of the army, states simply that Pierre GUILLOT had been dismissed by
his Regiment on the 26th September 1815 which proves this fine man wasn't
dead, as he was still alive! Did he go back to the charming town of
The colours of the flag have faded over the years as have those of the honour ribbons, shown below.
The Eagle of the 45th Regiment
Distributed on the 1st June 1815, this model was used
throughout the 100 days. It was a simpler version of the one issued on the
5th December 1804. Because of this, each one would be worth only 95 francs
instead of 145. Its weight was almost the same, about 1850 grams, with a
height of approximately 308mm.
In order to throw some light onto this period of French
history, it is important to remember that only the numbers fixed to the base
had survived the burning of 1814. As careful as all the other Finance
Ministers, the one under King Louis XVIII had taken precautions to un-gild
the Eagle before sending it to be melted down.
In payment for this fine, loyal service, the artisan who
took on this delicate work had authorisation to keep the numbers which had
been attached onto the bases.
At the return of the Emperor, obviously wanting to be
held in high esteem, the artisan offered to give these treasured numerals to
Napoleon who hastened to give the order that the numbers from 1804 should be
put on the bases of 1815 model - and do you know what this ardent
Bonapartiste was called? He was called
As on the previous versions from 1812 and 1813, the silk
lined tricolour was trimmed with gold. Although we don’t know exactly why,
the dimensions are different, starting at 80cm and later becoming 120cm. As
it was needed quite quickly, it was decorated with simple embroidery of
golden coloured laurels.
The golden coloured letters are also embroidered on a
black material and stitched in place.
The names of the battles of ESSLING and
At 90cms long, the tricolour ribbon, which is
embroidered and fringed with gold, is attached below the Eagle by two ties,
finished off with two golden tassels.
Next: The Battle of Waterloo